Tag Archives: iPad

Will e-books take off?

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The BBC's Rory Cellan-Jones blogged about the Kindle, iPad and e-books again this week. It's prompted me to post my thoughts on the subject. 

I love books. We have a room full of them, and I can't imagine life without the printed page. But when I got my iPad in May, I saw the potential. I read a sample of Peter Mandelson's The Third Man autobiography on a flight to San Francisco last month, and loved the way I could increase font size and backlighting. It was so much more appealing than reading books on my old Compaq iPAQ Pocket PC in 2001. 

I really wanted to splash out on a few e-books for my iPad. I would have bought the full version of Mandelson's book, despite my contempt for the man's politics and love of the rich and famous. But I was unwilling to pay more for the e-book than I would have paid for the hardback. (Interestingly, three weeks later the Apple title is now priced at £12.99 – identical to Amazon's price for the hardback, but still far more expensive than Amazon's £9.99 price for the Kindle e-books version.) And Apple's iBooks store is so empty of compelling titles that I always leave it without buying. 

Apple has to cut book prices to have any hope of doing for publishing what it did for music with iTunes. Music was a far easier conquest: a 99p music track was a compelling product, compared with buying a CD single, ripping it to your PC and sharing it with your iPod. (Let alone spending hours making a compilation tape to use on your car stereo or Walkman.) Amazon gives us a vast range of printed books at low cost, with next day delivery, while eBay offers a similarly amazing service, especially for out of print titles. I can't imagine a mass market developing for e-books while the devices and the titles remain expensive. 

Disclosure: I work for PayPal UK, part of eBay Inc. 

Why I chose a wifi only iPad

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One of my Twitter followers, John Taylor, asked me why I chose the wifi only version of the iPad. This post – the first I've written 'on request' – answers John's question.

It wasn't an instant decision. But the more I thought about how I'd use my new toy, the more I realised the 3G version would be an unnecessary indulgence. (A description some would apply to all versions of Apple's tablet!) For me, the iPad is a sofa companion, not a road warrior. It means I can do my browsing, check emails and keep up to date with Twitter and Facebook from the living room. I don't carry it with me on my travels except on holiday – such as our current fortnight at Greenwood Grange near Dorchester in Dorset – where it's proving a wonderful way of viewing holiday photos.

If Britain had a better 3G network I'd probably have opted for the 3G version. But, as the BBC's technology reporter Rory Cellan-Jones blogged today, the mobile phone networks have failed to fulfil the dream of a fast mobile internet. If I'd spent an extra £100 on the 3G iPad, I'd have found it useless at Greenwood Grange, as there's virtually no mobile internet coverage in our cottage. (And had Greenwood Grange's wifi service, provided by @clubwifi, actually worked, 3G would have been unnecessary.)

The other reason why I didn't splash out on the top iPad model is that I'm already paying for mobile internet through my iPhone. I didn't want to pay another monthly payment for data on the go – or to pay more every time I went online. (I love the iPhone's 'as much as you can eat' pricing for the mobile internet.) So far, I've got no regrets about my iPad choice. I don't miss the 3G connection. I'm sure in time that all mobile computers will come with the latest super-fast cellular connections. But for now, wifi is a good option.

Greased lightning: why I love my iPad

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BBC News: my iPad got me here in 12 seconds…

Last Friday's launch of the iPad has prompted the inevitable chorus of critics amidst the sighs of Apple worship. 'Style over substance', 'an iPhone on steroids' and 'a solution in search of a problem' (I admit, I thought that when Steve Jobs announced the iPad last January) rank amongst the most common. 

I blogged about my iPad the day I got it, last Thursday. I've now had a few more days to get to know it. And I've discovered what must be its greatest advantage. It gets you places quicker than you imagined possible. So anyone who values their time, but can't see why they need an iPad when they've got a PC, should think again. 

To prove the point, I did an experiment tonight. I wanted to find out how much faster the iPad got me to the BBC News homepage. I was amazed at the results. 

First out of the blocks: my three year old HP Pavilion laptop, running that dog of an operating system, Windows Vista. From switching on the computer to reaching the homepage: a mind-numbing five minutes 12 seconds. To give a fair comparison, I switched off the iPad. From switch on to BBC: an excellent 35 seconds. In reality, I don't turn off the iPad, so the true result is an extraordinary 12 seconds. 

My laptop is likely to live a life of leisure now my iPad has arrived!